People in parts of England will soon be able to get blood pressure checks at their dentist or optician under a trial being piloted by the NHS.
NHS England will over the next few months be testing a scheme whereby NHS community pharmacy blood pressure checks will be delivered in these locations to try to help identify people at hidden risks of stroke or heart attacks.
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms and it is estimated some 4.2 million people in England have the condition without knowing it.
If you have high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can help lower your risk of stroke, heart attacks, kidney disease and vascular dementia. The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get a blood pressure test.
High blood pressure
NHS targets over-40s for community blood pressure checks
More than four million in England have undiagnosed high blood pressure
The NHS has piloted a scheme in local dental and optometry teams in London and Yorkshire, but now more sites across England will trial the service with patients who may not otherwise have interactions with NHS services.
Fifteen local integrated care boards across England are taking part in the scheme, with six areas focusing on case finding at dentists, five in optometry, and four will be offering checks at both dental and optometry sites.
More than 60 clinical practices across England will trial the new approach and its expected over 100,000 blood pressure checks could be delivered over the next 12 months.
In Humber and North Yorkshire where the approach was trialled across 24 dental practices, around one in ten patients tested were found to have hypertension, NHS England has said.
In London, five optical practices in Bexley and Hackney offered blood pressure checks to patients. A survey of those tested also indicated that around half wouldn t have otherwise had their blood pressure checked.
Speaking at the European Society of Cardiology Annual Conference in London, Helen Williams, NHS national clinical director for cardiovascular disease prevention, said: “These convenient checks at dentists and optometrists will enable thousands of people to monitor their blood pressure and could potentially be life-saving.
“Many otherwise healthy people over 40 only visit their GP when they re feeling unwell, but offering these vital checks as part of routine dentist or eye test appointments means we can identify and support more people at risk.
“High blood pressure is a significant factor in many cardiovascular diseases but as it usually has no symptoms, many people don t know they have it, so I would urge anyone offered a check to come forward,” added Williams.
The latest pilots follow the NHS allowing pharmacies across England to carry out community outreach this summer to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked.
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